NEARLY 200 mountain bikers will travel from all over the East Coast to the Kiwarrak Mountain Bike Park in Taree to contest the PBM Hardrock Six-Hour Mountain Bike Race this weekend.
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This will be hosted by the Manning-Great Lakes tip Riders Mountain Bike Club.
The race, in its second year, has been touted as one of the standout club-run events on the Australian mountain bike racing calendar.
The combination of expertly built trails, friendly atmosphere of the event centre, the quality of racers who attend, and the tasty food provided at the event centre catering zone has assisted the event in gaining such a reputation.
The race is conducted over a timed format of six hours, with solo or team racers completing as many laps as possible or desired over that time.
Category winners are those who complete the most laps in six hours.
While the race provides a wonderful spectator experience within the event centre, there are many activities that non-racers can become involved in.
On Saturday, starting at 2pm, Bourkes Bicycles will conduct a guided ride of the Kiwarrak Forest trails for anyone interested in exploring this extensive network. There will be three guided rides catering for advanced, intermediate and beginner/family cyclists.
On Sunday at 11am, there will also be a kid’s bicycle gymkhana as part of the race festivities.
Riders aged between 5-12 years old can participate in this ride, and parents can tag along.
The youngsters will participate in a number of fun activities under the supervision of tip riders club members. Participants will need to purchase a participation day licence to be covered by insurance for the ride.
This costs under $10 and can be purchased at the race on the day.
The six hour race starts at 9am on Sunday and will continue through the day, with a presentation sponsored by Clarendon Forest Retreat concluding the weekend’s activities at about 3.30pm.
More information on the PBM Hardrock 6 Hour Mountain Bike Race can be found on the club’s website at www.tipriders.com.
Riders interested in participating in the Bourke’s Bicycles guided social ride on Saturday afternoon can call 6552 1251 for more information.
Manning Great Lakes Tip Riders Club member Michael Eyb said the marathon is rapidly gaining in popularity in the mountain bike community.
He said some top quality riders will be on show on Sunday and added this is a great opportunity for the community to look over the club’s facility.
